The Emperor’s New Clothes: How Smart Homes Are Becoming Rather Stupid

By Dmitry Bagrov

Dmitry Bagrov, Managing Director of DataArt UK, discusses pros and cons of smart home technologies in Huffpost Tech UK, questioning the necessity and extent of home innovation.

“Yes, the technology needed to totally integrate our homes into one ‘smart’ ecosystem is there, but I struggle to see what the point of it all is. Is saying “Alexa turn on the light” really better than just turning on the light? I think not.

None of this is to say that IoT applications have no place in our homes. In the very near future it will be possible, indeed even common, for your boiler to know which parts are about to fail and alert the energy company. For customers, repeat engineer visits will be eliminated, the massive cost of replacing parts of, or even the entire boiler can be avoided and the time cost of multiple days off work will no longer exist. Energy companies will be able to monitor when customers will need a service, reducing the need for ‘check-ups’. In addition, engineers will be able to know exactly what a customer needs and be able to provide said product immediately.

The IoT industry is now at a crossroads. It has the potential to be in every home or it could go the way of wearables - fun, but ultimately annoying and pointless.”